Local Government Minister Simon Watts has said the Government is restoring democratic accountability by stopping unelected people from voting on council committees.

Watts was in Christchurch today, where he told chrislynchmedia.com people with the power to spend ratepayer money should be elected by the public.

Asked whether unelected appointees being given voting rights had become mission creep within councils, Watts said it had.

“I think in reality it has. We’ve seen a significant amount of feedback from both councils and the public at large, and some pretty high profile examples, Northland being one, the Far North also, historically Hastings, Tauranga as well.”

“The simple premise is, and I think it’s one that’s pretty common sense, people who have the ability to spend ratepayer money should be those that are democratically elected, and that isn’t the case in a number of subcommittees and council.”

“That’s not democratic, and we’re fixing it.”

Watts said the bill currently before Parliament gave him the chance to act.

“It very much is a return to first principles. We’ve got a very large reform agenda for local government.”

“It’s an issue that we’ve been monitoring, but at the end of the day I’ve got an opportunity in a window with a bill that I’ve got on the table at the House right now to make this change, and we’re going to make it because what we’ve seen play through is not democratic.”

Watts said he believed the public was behind the change.

“I think most Kiwis would absolutely realise and think is sensible that people around those tables who aren’t democratically elected shouldn’t be making calls on how they spend their money, but that is happening in parts of the country, and we’re going to stop that.”

In Christchurch, Mayor Phil Mauger has previously backed the co governance model used for the Avon River Corridor Regeneration Committee, which looks at the future of residential red zone land.

The committee has 3 elected councillors and 3 appointed local runanga representatives.

Asked whether those appointed members would lose their voting rights under the changes, Watts said the answer depended on the committee’s legal basis.

“The changes that I’m making do not impact committees that are established under Treaty settlement processes or other aspects of legislation, so I haven’t got the specific example of that exact case.”

Watts said most committees would still fall under the change.

“The vast majority of subcommittees that are set up at the moment are not set up under those mechanisms and therefore you won’t be able to vote if you’re not democratically elected.”

Watts gave an example of how it would work in practice.

“You can still be part of those committees, so think about an audit risk committee where you’ve got an independent chair that might be an accountant, for say. They can still be on that committee, it’s just that they don’t have voting rights and don’t count towards the quorum, but they can still input technical advice.”

“That’s the important distinction.”

Asked whether Environment Canterbury committees linked to Treaty settlement arrangements would be affected, Watts pointed to the council’s future.

“We’re not worrying about Environment Canterbury because that’s got a different pathway, which is coming to an end at the 2028 election.”

Watts also rejected suggestions Canterbury councils were being rushed into decisions on possible mergers.

He met Canterbury mayors today and said he had been encouraged by what he heard.

“I’m pretty impressed actually. You’ve got a good degree of dialogue and conversation across the region with the mayors.”

“It would be fair to say that they’re taking into account their community views around this.”

“There’s time in play for them to be able to put together their plan.”

Watts said the Government’s head start process was aimed at councils already well advanced in their thinking.

“We’re not going to sacrifice speed for quality on that plan.”

“From the conversations I’ve had today, my assessment is your region is heading in a direction which is well thought out and pragmatic.”

Watts said the choice was for local leaders.

“It’s not for me to dictate. It’s for the local communities and mayors to design a plan, and I’ll see what we get.”

Watts said the change raised a practical question.

“What we are clear on is that in 2028 regional councils will not exist.”

“We need to work towards a position where, with regional councils not being in play, how are the functions that are undertaken by that entity going to be shared amongst the councils, and what does that model look like?”

Watts said the design had to come from the region itself.

“We’ve been pretty clear that we’re keen for input from councils around any alternative models.”

“It’s really important for us to have a design of a solution that’s community led, that’s bought into at a community level, not pushed down by some politician in Wellington.”

“We want this to be an enduring change, and I’m confident that your region is going to be heading in the right direction.”

Asked about Selwyn Mayor Lydia Gliddon’s view the fast growing district should be left alone, Watts said he had met her today.

“The feedback that I had across the board is actually the region are working together as a broader region.”

“They understand the benefits, but there are issues that they need to and are working through with their communities, and that’s fair enough.”

Watts said he wanted to work alongside the region.

“I’ve offered any support that my agencies can do to help in this process. This is a collaborative process.”

Watts rejected any sense the mayors were resisting.

“I definitely didn’t get the impression today that there isn’t a degree of willingness to work together as a region.”

“Actually quite the opposite. That is the intent that they made very clear to me.”

Watts said Selwyn stood out.

“Selwyn’s interesting in the context it’s a high growth area. It’s got a lot of population opportunity, a lot of economic growth, and everything that we’re doing here we need to make sure that we continue that trajectory because that’s good for the region.”

Watts was also asked about Christchurch Councillor Sam MacDonald’s suggestion Selwyn and Waimakariri residents should face tolls to enter Christchurch if their councils refuse to merge with the city.

Watts sidestepped the question.

“As any wise local government minister that’s not from your region, I’m not going to get involved in comments that Sam’s making.”

Watts said the voting change was one piece of a larger goal.

“I think the broader question and the broader point is how do you make this work in practice, and ratepayers are concerned around the costs that are flowing through.”

“Government want to do this reform because we want a simpler local government model, and with the RMA reform underway we’ve got a really big opportunity to be able to do that.”

Watts said that was the payoff for households.

“A simpler local government ideally drives more efficiencies, lower costs onto ratepayers, and then ratepayers are going to be happy because they are concerned with the cost of rates.”

“I’m not going to get into the detail on Sam’s ideas. I’ll leave that for the local councillors to work their way through.”